Africa requires about $1.4 billion to respond to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, roughly three times higher than previous estimates, the continent’s autonomous health agency has said.
Earlier funding requirements for a coordinated response had been put at about $518 million, developed with the World Health Organization and other partners to support surveillance, laboratory capacity, emergency stockpiles, and rapid response teams.
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya said at a virtual press briefing on Thursday that the revised estimate reflects escalating response needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and Uganda.
More than 300 people have been killed in DR Congo and Uganda since the outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus began on May 15. The Congolese Health Ministry said on Thursday that the country has recorded 1,155 confirmed cases and 304 deaths.
As of June 18, Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths, as well as one probable fatal case, according to the WHO. The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccines or specific treatments.
The WHO has said the risk of wider international spread remains low after the French Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday that France has reported its first Ebola case involving a doctor who returned from a humanitarian mission in the DR Congo.
Kaseya said health systems in DR Congo, particularly in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, are under strain amid worsening humanitarian conditions. Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu have been affected for years by attacks by armed groups and fighting that has triggered mass displacement of people from their homes.
The UN humanitarian office said nearly 1 million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri alone, making contact tracing harder as people flee attacks or move frequently through remote areas.
The Africa CDC director-general said that so far about $910 million in funding has been pledged, but only 13% has been disbursed.
“If we don’t have this $1.4 billion and if we don’t resolve the humanitarian issue, we will not stop this outbreak,” Kaseya told reporters, according to Reuters.
On Friday, China handed over $2 million in emergency support to the Africa CDC to help contain the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak and support affected member states, the agency announced.